Burkinabe irk Micho by rejoicing Uganda draw

KAMPALA. With every failed Africa Cup of Nations qualification attempt through the last 37 years, Uganda Cranes fans can be pardoned for becoming accustomed to failure.
Such has been the regularity of qualification miscarriages that the country has now grown immune to heartbreak.
With a feeble history on the continent, the draw of Uganda in Group D was met by glee from the Burkina Faso delegation in Cairo, Egypt according to Cranes coach Micho Sredojevic, who attended the ceremony yesterday.
“They celebrated here,” the Serb noted. “But I pledge to serve them the Ugandan version of humble pie.” Micho admitted yesterday that the group, which also features Botswana and Comoros, will not be an easy one. “Burkina Faso showed their quality by reaching the finals of Afcon 2013 and being unlucky in Afcon 2015.
“They brought a new coach in Gernot Roher and they enter the group as favourites.” The Cranes coach also made mention of Uganda’s 3-1 victory over Botswana in Gabarone while discussing the attributes of the Southern African side. “Botswana is a team that has a good crop of players but we played with them friendly matches at their home ground and won and drew.”

“But those were friendly matches, we need to get a formula for this match that counts since points will be at stake.”
Comoros are rightly seen as paperweights in the group but Micho opted to see it differently.
“They have no big names but have a number of professional players in France,” he observed, adding that Kenya had to sweat to hold them off by a 1-0 aggregate score-line in a recent preliminary qualifier. Traditionally, Cranes have started campaigns strongly before fizzling at the end. Micho is now plotting for a difference.

“With regards to the last campaign, it is not important how you start but the way you finish,” he emphasized. Uganda last featured at Afcon in 1978. The 2017 edition will be staged in Gabon after their bid outlasted the ones from Ghana and Algeria. Cranes face Botwana during the weekend of June 12-14 at Namboole before visiting Comoros (September 4-6).

Afcon2017 groups
Group A: Djibouti, Liberia, Togo, Tunisia
Group B: Angola, Central African Republic, DRC, Madagascar
Group C: Benin, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, South Sudan
Group D: Botswana, Burkina Faso, Comoros Islands, Uganda
Group E: Congo, Bissau, Kenya, Zambia
Group F: Cape Verde Islands, Libya, Morocco, Sao Tome e Principe
Group G: Chad, Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania
Group H: Ghana, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda
Group I: Gabon (hosts), Ivory Coast (holders), Sierra Leone, Sudan
Group J: Algeria, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Seychelles
Group K: Burundi, Namibia, Niger, Senegal
Group L: Guinea, Malawi, Swaziland, Zimbabwe
Group M: Cameroon, Gambia, Mauritania, South Africa
*Group winners and three best runner ups qualify.

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